Harvest is starting to wrap up across the state right now, which will finally give me some time to update the blog again. I’ve been pretty busy helping several vineyards with harvests, as well as a few stints down in Willcox for Passion Cellars (including aiding in the harvest of Arizona’s first crop of Corvina). In these hot days between the end of monsoon and the coming of fall, it’s time for a crisp, acidic white–and the 2016 Vermentino from Lightning Ridge Cellars fits the bill.

The 2016 Vermentino from Lightning Ridge Cellars, perched in the mountains.

The Wine: While under the Lightning Ridge Label, the 2016 Vermentino is sourced from Flying Kite Vineyard, down in the Sonoita AVA. I am unsure of the fermentation and aging process on this wine, but if I had to guess, I feel like this wine may have seen some aging in neutral French oak. Like all the wines at Lightning Ridge, this wine was made by Ann Roncone. As you would expect for a wine of this varietal, this vintage is a translucent, pale yellow-green color.

The Nose: The 2016 Vermentino opens with notes of key-lime pie, intermingling with briny sea-salt/seashore on a cold, windy day, and just a hint of tangerine. As the nose opens, additional notes of white peach, grapefruit, apple blossom, and mint emerge.

The Palate: This wine is light-bodied and has high acidity, but on both counts it is fuller-bodied and a little bit lower in acidity than other Vermentino vintages I’ve had from both Arizona and Italy. Notes of grass, key-lime, grapefruit, sea-salt, and almond round out the refreshing palate of this vintage. The finish of the 2016 Vermentino lasts for 47 seconds, and has notes of limestone, sea-salt, and Meyer lemon, with just a touch of tangerine.

The Pairing: For some reason, the cheerful, bright nature of Vermentino always makes me think of bringing it on picnics with sharp cheeses and fennel pork sausage. Despite this, I have yet to do so. This wine will also pair well with chicken tacos or roasted trout. For a vegetarian or vegan pairing, serve this wine with a spinach quiche, or some roasted zucchini with garlic and herbs. For that matter, serve this wine with anything covered in pesto.

Impressions: The 2016 Vermentino is a great, easy-going, light-bodied, high-acid white wine for the last days of summer. Drink this wine young, and drink it now while it’s still hot. Bring it for a picnic, or bring it on its own.

Personified, I feel like this wine would be kind of like a down to earth, tall, blonde, Italian fashion model who oddly prefers to be in the woods. In fact, she’d rather model for REI, or maybe The North Face, sleeping on the side of a rock face, instead of being on a catwalk.

On National Wine Drinking Day, I decided to crack open a white wine after work, and pack a bowl of pipe tobacco and try to get some desperately-needed relaxation time in. The pipe tobacco was Briar Fox from Cornell & Diehl (a gift from a friend and avid reader of this blog); the wine was the 2014 Meskeoli from Dos Cabezas Wineworks. This wine tastes markedly different to me from the 2013 vintage I drank and reviewed on this blog quite some time ago.

The 2014 Meskeoli amidst some ruins in Old Jerome

The Wine: 2014 Meskeoli from Dos Cabezas WineWorks with a pipe. The blend for the 2014 Meskeoli is 25% Viognier, 21% Roussanne, 19% Riesling, 17% Picpoul Blanc, 11% Malvasia, 6% Albariño, and 1% Muscat of Alexandria. These grapes were sourced from Bostock’s Cimmaron Vineyard, in the Willcox AVA. Like the 2013 vintage, this wine was fermented in a 1,850L concrete egg – then aged in concrete and neutral oak. The varietals in the blend were picked as they became ripe and then were sorted. The whole clusters were loaded into picking bins, stepped on, and then cold macerated for 24-48 hours. The juice was allowed to oxidize, as no CO2 was added. Then the fruit was pressed, settled overnight, and then racked into concrete and inoculated. This procedure was repeated as necessary for each varietal and blended together as fermentation proceeded. The wine was bottled at 6 months, sterile filtered, and unfined. Basically, the reason why the blend is different every year is, as Todd Bostock states: “If the fruit looks and tastes good, it goes into the blend. Cimarron is planted to a constellation of whites intended to be together.”

The Nose: The nose opens with notes of lemon, apricot, honeydew melon, and acacia blossom. As the wine sits in the glass, additional notes of Starfruit, mint, and limestone emerge.

The Palate: The 2014 Meskeoli has a very fruity palate; notes of lemon, pineapple, starfruit, and apricot round out the palate, with hints of gardenia and acacia blossom. The finish is long, lasting for 1 minute and 23 seconds, with notes of Meyer lemon and apricot, with subtle hints of minerality. There is nice acidity here, that coats the tongue.

The Pairing: The tobacco blend I smoked, a mix of Burley and Virginia, paired really well with the 2014 Meskeoli, though it did dimish a lot of the fruity character of this wine. Come to think of it, I really should talk more about wine pairings with pipe tobacco at some point…. but this pairing won’t help you if you’re not a pipe smoker. I can really see this wine going well with a chicken pesto dish, or a vegan equivalent. It might also work well with breadfruit.

Impressions: Despite the 2014 Meskeoli Vintage blend being more focused on Viognier and Roussanne, this wine overall seems more acidic at first glance to me than the 2013, which was centered around Picpoul. After you spend some more time with it, however, on its own without any food (or without a pipe), you see that this initial impression isn’t quite correct, and the fruit stands out well. At times, this wine reminded me a bit of those tropical fruit flavored starbursts. Personified, I feel that the 2014 vintage is a blonde-haired track runner who does her prepping for marathons around high mountain lakes in the middle of summer.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere in my blog, I’m particularly fond of Pavle Milec’s restaurant, FnB. (It was also the first place I took my Girlfriend to be introduced to Arizona wine, for what it’s worth.) I’ve also mentioned before that Pavle has worked in tandem with Todd Bostock of Dos Cabezas to make a wine label. After drinking the Rune Mourvedre a few days ago, I thought I’d compare Willcox and Sonoita once again, with the same grape, so I thought I’d crack open my bottle of the 2013 Lorenzo’s. For the record, one of the best things about this particular label is that these wines are among the easiest to find in Arizona; you can find them at Whole Foods and AJ’s Fine Foods stores across the state.

The 2013 Lorenzo’s is a Mourvedre that explores the terroir of the Sonoita AVA

The Wine: The 2013 Lorenzo’s is 100% Mourvedre, sourced from Todd Bostock’s Pronghorn Vineyard. This may well make this wine a thing of the past, as Bostock has been grafting over Petit Verdot and Vranec (a dark, Balkan red varietal) to these vines of late. Bostock feels that Mourvedre does better on the Willcox Bench in his Cimmaron vineyard, rather than the Sonoita AVA. I’ve had vintages I’ve liked from both areas, but I am not opposed to more Vranec in the slightest. I’m not entirely sure how this wine was aged, but the hints of vanilla suggest a small percentage of newer French oak, as well as neutral barrels, for at least a year or so. Like all of the wines in the Los Milic’s label, it is named for a member of Pavle’s family. The color is about the same as any other Arizona Mourvedre: dark garnet.

The Nose: The nose of the 2013 Lorenzo’s is much lighter than that of the Rune, however. Instead of the earth-driven notes of that wine, this Mourvedre is far more fruity and floral on the nose, opening with violets, lavender, plum, cherry, boysenberry, and the classic Sonoita AVA tangerine terroir note. Herbal notes of sage and mint, along with vanilla, also appear on the opening. As the wine opens, this vintage gains notes of pomegranate, cedar, and nutmeg.

The Palate: Again, the 2013 Lorenzo’s is more fruit and floral driven on the palate than the Rune Mourvedre, opening with juicy plum, vanilla, violet, watermelon jolly rancher, and cherry notes that intermingle with citrus zest, sage, and some earthiness. The finish after opening is 45 seconds. It is a little less full-bodied than the Rune Mourvedre, but has a higher acidity. Given time to open up, the palate becomes more earthy, with additional notes of pomegranate, tobacco, and tarragon. The finish at this point in time lasts for 1 minute and 24 seconds.

The Pairing: I paired this wine with some green chile cheeseburgers, but like most Arizona Mourvedre, it will go well with wild game such as elk or venison. Actually: a venison chili would be amazing with this wine; if you are vegan or vegetarian; a chili of that sort would work well as a pairing. If you have received your Thin Mint girl-scout cookies, that will work as a pairing too.

Impressions: As much as I do like Sonoita Mourvedre, I have to agree with Todd–this grape tends to do better, flavorwise, on the Willcox Bench than it does in the Sonoita AVA. (I do feel, though, that this grape does better in Sonoita in terms of flavor profile than it does in the Chiricahua Foothills, however–except of course Colibri, because Colibri is god-damned Rivendell, made of magic and petrified unicorn tears.)

Now, that being said, I will gravitate towards a Mourvedre over a Grenache any day of the week, and the 2013 Lorenzo’s is not a bad Mourvedre in the slightest. Moreover, I really do feel that Mourvedre is a grape that is a serious contender to be one of the varietals that Arizona is known for in the long run. In other words: if you see this bottle, don’t pass it up. And, since it is a little bit lighter-bodied, and somewhat more fruit-forward than the last Mourvedre I looked at, I suspect this will be a more appealing wine to the general consumer palate–not a bad thing at all.

Personification-wise, I feel that this wine is a woman vocalist inclined to Mezzo Soprano, preferring to sing classical pieces in Latin or Italian.

Located next to Rune, Hannah’s Hill Vineyard is a small, picturesque vineyard in the Sonoita AVA. They grow several different varietals, such as Roussanne, Malvasia, Riesling, Mourvedre, Tempranillo, and Petit Sirah. Also of note, Hannah’s Hill does not use oak in making their wines, preferring the terroir of the high plains of Sonoita to show through into their wines. The 2014 Sandstone blend is one of the first white wine blends to be made at Hannah’s Hill.

The 2014 Sandstone is a blend of Roussanne and Riesling.

The Wine: The 2014 Sandstone Blend is made of estate-grown Riesling and Roussane. This wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel. The wine is unfiltered and unfined; some bottles may be cloudy like mine. According to the bottle description, the 2014 season at Hannah’s hill was marked by challenging growing conditions. Damaging hail struck the vineyard in July, and there were several waves of hurricane remnants that struck during September, which made for a wetter monsoon than average. This meant that overall yields were low, but each varietal lot was independently harvested and fermented.

The Nose: This wine opens with intense notes of lemongrass and starfruit, intermingling with more subtle notes of pansies and cliff rose. As the wine opens, notes of banana and tangerine emerge.

The Palate: The 2014 Sandstone opens with strong notes of banana, citrus, and baking spice, intermingling with notes of flinty limestone. This wine has a high acidity. The finish of this wine lasts for 40 seconds, and is filled with notes of limestone, starfruit, apple, and lemongrass. This wine feels pretty full-bodied on the palate; there’s a bit of weight to it.

The Pairing: The fuller body of this wine, likely imparted by the Roussanne, grants this wine some additional flexibility in terms of pairing options. A fettuccine alfredo dish, whether with chicken or mushrooms, will work well with this wine.

Impressions: I personally found this full-bodied white blend to be a little bland and average on the palate for my liking–I myself prefer lighter-bodied, intensely floral and fruity white wines. I could see, though, how this wine could be a gateway to the Arizona industry for someone who prefers steel-aged Chardonnay as their daily wine. Or lovers of champagne might enjoy this wine–the strong flinty character of this wine reminds me of the terroir notes of the Champagne region.

The other day, a friend of mine asked me, “why are you saying that rosé season is over? It’s not.” I started talking about the arrival of cold weather, and how I like rosé best while waiting for the monsoon. I was scolded, then reminded that one of the best pairings for any traditional Holiday suite of food is a rosé of some kind. So with that in mind, I decided to crack open my bottle of the 2014 Wide-Eyed Rosé, which I picked up in March. Coming from AZ Hops N’ Vines, this wine provides a unique take on an Arizona Classic.

2014 Wide-Eyed Rosé in Bitter Creek

The Wine: The 2014 Wide-Eyed Rosé is 100% Grenache, sourced from Golden Rule Vineyard, near Dragoon. The big twist that makes this wine so unique is that this rosé was aged on American Oak. I’ve not seen many rosé wines aged on oak, period. The wine was made by Megan Haller, the winemaker for Hops N’ Vines. It is a vibrant rose color. This is much darker than the usual salmon pink I generally associate with Grenache rosé.

The Nose: This is not what I normally expect from a Grenache rosé.The nose opens with notes of bright raspberry, watermelon, and the molasses/cedar aromas imparted by American oak. As the wine sits in the glass, additional notes of smoke, cherry, tarragon, and sage emerge.

The Palate: The 2014 Wide-Eyed Rosé is singularly unique on the palate also. Rosehips, raspberry, and watermelon collide with vanilla, cedar, and violets at the start. The wine has decent acidity. As the wine opens, notes of cherry, maror, and pepper emerge. The finish of this wine lasts for 25 seconds, containing notes of sage, vanilla, anise and watermelon. It also feels a little bit more full-bodied than most Arizona Grenache rosé.

The Pairing: My immediate thought is to pair this wine with any sort of honey-baked or smoked ham that you’re planning on having for Christmas dinner. The smoky character imparted by the American oak makes it a no brainer. Hot wings will also work well. A vegetarian pairing is a little harder to come up with, but jackfruit with BBQ sauce I think will do nicely.

Impressions: The 2014 Wide-Eyed Rosé is, quite frankly, just plain weird, in a good way. It’s a novel, and refreshing, take on an Arizona classic. The 2015 Wide-Eyed Rosé is made in a similar mode, though the oak notes are less pronounced. This wine reminds us that sometimes we need to see the world again through the wide-eyed wonder of a small child. (Or so the message on the label indicates to me, anyway: “Sometimes we forget who we really are.”)

Therefore, I have to admit I see this wine as being close to the personification of Sir Richard Attenborough; someone who shares their wide-eyed wonder at the world around them with others, with infectious enthusiasm.

It’s been a while since I explored something made from Sonoita AVA fruit, and when I was last down, I finally gave Kent Callaghan his long-awaited (I assume, anyway) Turkish wines I brought back from the Queen of Cities last year. In return, Kent was kind enough to trade me a few bottles at his insistence, and this was one of the bottles I chose. I do like field blends…

2014 Lisa’s Blend from Callaghan Vineyards

The Wine: The 2014 Lisa’s is a field blend; part of a yearly series (or seems to be a yearly series). According to Kent Callaghan, this particular vintage has a high percentage of Viognier, with lesser amounts of Malvasia Bianca, and Marsanne in line. There are also small bits of Falanghina, Fiano, and Petit Manseng. I have to say, I do like field blends: it’s a good way to get a feel for a vineyard in a particular year. The wine was aged on roughly 10% new French oak; the rest of the barrels were neutral, and it was aged on the lees for 6 months. The Lisa field blends are named after his wife. The 2014 vintage is a friendly dandelion yellow in color.

The Nose: I was really surprised by this wine when I first opened the bottle and poured it into the glass, as I was expecting fruity and floral from what I knew of the blend. Instead, this wine opens up with strong herbaceous notes of lemongrass, lime, thyme, and white tea, intermingling with breadfruit and orange blossom. Once the wine opens, the overall aroma of this wine becomes more floral and fruity, with notes of vanilla, jasmine, gardenia, peach, cantaloupe, and pear intermingling with the breadfruit and lemongrass.

The Palate: Like the nose, the palate starts off with strong breadfruit and lemongrass notes, with hints of lavender, white tea, and thyme. As the wine opens, the palate changes: notes of tangerine, peach, green apple, and starfruit emerge and intermingle with the aforementioned herbal notes. This is a medium-bodied white wine with decent acidity, so it will pair well with a wide variety of foods. The finish of this wine is long, lasting for 1 minute 35 seconds, with notes of nutmeg, apricot, and flint.

The Pairing: I feel like this wine would pair well with a lavender/lemon roasted chicken, or some sort of smoked, lemon-braized oceanic sportsfish (like Marlin or the like), with a side of wild rice, and roasted vegetables. It could also pair well with bratwurst and sauerkraut. For a vegetarian or vegan pairing, a lentil coconut curry or saffron rice dish would work quite well, I think.

Impressions: This is one of the strangest, and most interesting whites to parse through that I’ve had in a while. I normally don’t recommend (or think about) decanting whites, but this time around, I would, simply because the nose and palate change so radically over time within this vintage. I also predict this wine should age quite well; it has a nice acidity, and the dramatic change in nose and palate suggests this attribute to me as well.

The Lisa’s is a sunny, friendly vintage, reminiscent of a friendly travel writer or food critic, or even a novelist. While friendly, there’s a lot of complexity here to reward the careful drinker.

As we whirl quickly from Summer and the Monsoon deep into fall, I find myself staring in horror that I have less time than I thought to drink rosé before the icy cold hands of winter reach their grip across northern Arizona.

The answer to this realization of cold dread, of course, was “go out into the desert and drink some rosé on the top of a really cool hill.” Naturally, I followed this higher calling, just for you guys. (Well that, and it was a rough week, so “rosé in the desert” seemed like an all-around good idea to relax and unwind a bit. Say, now I wonder if “rosé and unwind” should be a hash tag…)

2013 Cracklin’ Rosie Rosé, from Rancho Rossa Vineyards.

The Wine: The 2013 Cracklin’ Rosie Rosé is named after the Neil Diamond song of the same name, and is a blend of 87% Grenache, and 13% Syrah. The fruit for this wine came from the Rancho Rossa estate vineyard, so this wine is 100% Sonoita AVA fruit. The grapes for this wine were harvested on 9/21/13 at 20 Brix. The pH was 3.43, and it was left on the skins one day before being pressed. The winemaker was Chris Hamilton. It is a pale salmon in color.

The Nose: This wine opens with notes of apple, peach, strawberry, mesquite honey, and the classic Sonoita tangerine. As the wine opens, notes of limestone, grapefruit, and lychee emerge from the glass

The Palate: Notes of white peach and strawberry intermingle with persimmon and apple on the palate. The wine is ever so slightly effervescent, granting a unique dimension to the palate of this wine. The finish of this wine lasts for 1 minute and 17 seconds, with notes of tangerine, grapefruit, and persimmon.

The Pairing: Pair this wine with bacon wrapped shrimp or crab. Barring that, herbed hot wings or a hummus and vegetable plate would work also. I just like pairing rosé with party foods, I guess.

Impressions: This was a pretty fun rosé to close out the summer with. If you don’t get to this wine before winter comes, you could save it in your cellar until next summer… but why?

Grenache rosé is a pretty classic Arizona style; this example is a guerrilla knitter and wildlife biologist who prefers to spend his time in the desert, versus the city.

You don’t see as many Bordeaux grapes grown in the Sonoita AVA these days as you once did. And in my opinion, Petit Verdot is among my favorites. I had to pick up this bottle of Petit Verdot one of the first times I visited Lightning Ridge Cellars, almost 2 and a half years ago. I’ve had it aging quietly since then… and I’ve been craving Bordeaux grapes lately for some reason, so I decided to break this bottle out of the cellar and give it a try.

2011 Petit Verdot from Lghtning Ridge Cellars, Sonoita AVA.

The Wine: I was not able to get details on this vintage, but there is tangerine notes on the nose and on the palate after an extreme decant, so I am assuming this fruit is from the Sonoita AVA. I’m also guessing this wine was aged on American oak, due to the scent profile, in heavier toast, newer barrels. The wine was made by Ann Roncone. This wine, as you would expect from Petit Verdot, is an extremely dark, almost blackish purple in color.

The Nose: When first opened, the biggest aromas that grab me hint at a usage of new American oak barrels: cedar, teriyaki sauce, and dill that overwhelm the nose, scents which make me assume the use of american oak. Given a few hours to decant though, the situation has entirely changed; more subtle notes of the wine come out to play: pencil shavings, banana, sage, and rose come out to play, intermingling with big cassis, blackberry, plum, and mulberry notes. After a day-long decant, the nose of this wine also contains the scent of violets, cinnamon, and rosemary, and the fruit notes have become more subdued.

Palate: This wine still has huge tannins. When first imbibed, vanilla, cedar, and nutmeg notes are prominent, but as the wine calms down and opens up, notes of pomegranate, plum, cherry, banana, cassis, rosemary, and mulberry emerge, intermingling with intense leathery tannins, persimmons, espresso, and chalky limestone. After being open for two hours, the wine has a finish of 4 minutes, with big tannins, spice, and earth . After further decanting this wine for a day, the wine obtains even more subtle flavors of violets and rosemary (and there’s still lots of tannins and persimmon notes), and the finish lasts for 4 minutes and 21 seconds.

Pairing: Bigger is going to be better with this wine: ribeyes, porterhouses, and other big meat dishes are going to be fantastic with this wine, but since I’ve been on a Persian cuisine kick lately, you should pair this wine with a Beryooni dish (Lamb, basically). Or Lamb kebabs. For a vegetarian pairing, big is also going to be your watchword: mushroms will be your best friend. A lasagna made with portobello mushroom or ruffles with a side of wild rice will shine with this wine.

Impressions: Petit Verdot for me is usually a sort of brooding artist or writer, sometimes with a bit of a twisted mind, fond of using deep colors, prone to chain smoking and abstract art. The last one we visited reminded me of Rothko, but this is… different. More moody, but less abstract, possibly more impressionist in mode… a little like Van Gogh, actually.

I admit, at first I didn’t like this Petit Verdot, and felt it over-oaked, and for those who aren’t fans of American Oak, your first thought may well be like mine: “oh god, what did they do?” Wait. Let it decant. Decanting is your watchword with this wine, and if you don’t decant this wine, (or really, any other Petit Verdot) you’re going to have a bad time.

Which is why I’m going to close with a meme for the first time ever on The Arizona Wine Monk Blog:

Take this advice to heart. Or cellar this wine for another 10 years and you won’t feel nearly as impatient when you take that first sip just out of the bottle.

Located right on “Winery Row,” on Elgin Road, Kief-Joshua Vineyards has an interesting selection of both estate-grown and Willcox wines for the offering. There’s a really great article about Kief Manning in the latest issue of AZ Wine Lifestyle, so lets dive into the wine.

The Wine: The 2014 Estate Viognier is, as you would expect, 100% Estate Sonoita Ava vineyard Viognier from the Kief-Joshua vineyard. The wine was steel fermented, and steel aged. It’s a light yellow color. The wine of course, was made by Kief Manning.

Nose: The nose of this Viognier has the omnipresent Sonoita AVA tangerine notes, intermingling with apples, pears, peaches, with some slight vanilla notes. Overall, this wine is less floral on the nose than most Willcox expressions of this varietal, with notes of iris and lavender.

Palate: Bright apple, and pear notes intermingle with some slight citrus peel (tangerine, specifically) with additional notes of iris, flint, and limestone. The wine has solid acidity. The finish of this wine lasts for 34 seconds, containing notes of peach and sour nectarine. The 2014 Estate is pretty full bodied for a Viognier.

Pairing: Pair this wine with duck confit, or a heavy salad with pine nuts and arugula.

Impression: The 2014 Estate Viognier is a solid example of Viognier as expressed within Sonoita geology and terroir; something which actually isn’t all that common, since Roussanne seems to be the more popular white Rhone grape in Sonoita. This wineis decidedly masculine; it is a Geologist or Paleontologist who specializes in Fossil Sharks.

Long ago in Sonoita, there was Canelo Hills Winery. The estate vineyard there, along with the facility, were bought by Flying Leap years ago, and up until a few years ago, bottles with the old Canelo Hills label were still being sold at the Willcox Flying Leap tasting room. That’s where I picked up this bottle, almost two years ago: before I even considered starting this blog. Even then, I found myself curious about Arizona Nebbiolo, so I picked this bottle up to age for a bit.

And then I forgot about it. And I’ve kept meaning to get to it eventually, which I’ve even mentioned on this blog. But when Gary called and said that he was going to watch Silence of the Lambs, and was going to cook up some goat liver… Well, I couldn’t say no. (In the book, the pairing for the census taker was not Chianti, but Barolo, which is proper. Well, for liver anyway…)

So how well does the 2009 Canelo Hills Nebbiolo hold out? Let’s find out.

The Wine: I know pathetically little about the production of this wine, I am somewhat ashamed to admit. What I do know is that the grapes for this vintage came from what was then known as Sweet Sunrise Vineyard, on the Willcox Bench. The vineyard is more famous now under the new name: Sand-Reckoner. The wine was made by the previous owners of the Flying Leap facility, Tim and Joan Mueller. If anyone has any information on the production of this wine, please let me know.

This wine is darker than most Arizona Nebbiolo wines I’ve encountered over the years, with the exception of the Paciencia, from Caduceus. That wine was a blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo, though, so I’m wondering if this wasn’t technically a blend as well.

EDIT: Tim Mueller himself has commented on this post and provided me with a wealth of information on this wine. Be sure to read the comments! (Thanks, Tim, I greatly appreciate it.)

The nose: This wine is pretty subtle. But it does have the classic nose of a Barolo to me: eucalyptus, cherry, cassis, cinnamon, allspice, and anise. As the wine opens, notes of the Willcox monsoon petrochor also emerge from the glass.

Palate: The palate of this wine is as equally subtle as the nose at first, and equally as remenicent of its Italian cousin. The wine itself is quite juicy, and still holds great acidity. It’s not nearly as tannic to me as a Barolo of similar age would be, however. Mint, eucalyptus, cherry, cassis, cinnamon, and cedar, form the opening salvo of the palate. As the wine opens, the flavor notes intensify, and more classic terroir notes that I associate with Willcox emerge on the palate; tobacco and earth. The finish of this wine is acidic, earthy, slightly tannic, with notes of cherry, tobacco, mint and black tea, lasting for 1 minute and 9 seconds.

The Pairing: Treat this wine as you would a true Barolo of an older vintage. Yes, that does mean liver and fava beans are an option. (As are corndogs and onion rings, which is what we actually ended up with when we decided liver was not our jam.) For a vegetarian pairing, serve this wine with a truffle-based dish, possibly even a macaroni and cheese with melted manchego, romano, and gouda would do the trick. (A full on vegan pairing could be a nice risotto.)

Impressions: I won’t lie, I honestly expected and worried that this bottle was going to be past its prime and had brought a Sangiovese just in case. Instead, I found myself pleasantly suprised. I feel like this wine is peaking now, so if you have this bottle, drink it now (or in the next few months). The reason why I say that is because this reminds me a great deal of a 2001 Barolo I drank last year that was supposedly peaking at the time. On that note, the Canelo Hills Nebbiolo is, by far, the most Italian Nebbiolo I’ve encountered in AZ, and is better than most Barolo style wines I’ve drank coming from Mexico.

While I personally feel that Arizona should do its own style of wine from this grape (and I dig our rosé wines made from this grape quite a bit), it’s nice to see that we can do the classic Italian style some vintages.

As for the personification of this Old-world style wine? I feel this wine is a writer, long celebrated, trying a new form to his story. Something silly, that raises points about how we view the world. I was reminded a little bit of Baudolino, by Umberto Eco as a result of this thought process so, I’m going to go with that. His writings have held up as well as this wine has, so far.